En Masse Entertainment announces they will be holding open beta testing of TERA this weekend, and participants who have preordered the MMORPG will be able to carry over progress from this beta weekend into the game when it goes live. Here's the deal:

In preparation for the May 1 launch of its intense action MMO, TERA™, En Masse Entertainment is excited to host the game’s open beta weekend, which takes place from Friday, April 20 to Monday, April 23.

Players who want an early taste of TERA’s beautiful world and visceral combat can try the game’s all-new playable prologue. As the game begins, the first explorers to the mysterious Island of Dawn are shipwrecked and attacked by demons the moment they land. Players reach the beach, then struggle to regroup before the demons descend upon the survivors.

From the beach, players join a group of soldiers who have ventured up the cliffs to attack the demons directly, learning the basics of swimming, jumping, and climbing along the way. Then they dive into TERA’s contextual action combat and learn the importance of using skill rather than stats to take down enemies, including one of the game’s fearsome big-ass monsters, the kumas.

As players level up and move through the game’s world, they will join an alliance of races fighting to save their world from destruction by the menacing and vicious argon invaders. During open beta, players will be able to progress their characters as high as level 32, and if they pre-ordered TERA, their characters will continue into the launch version of the game come May 1. Pre-order customers will also have access to TERA’s Head Start period taking place from Saturday, April 28 to Tuesday, May 1.

To access TERA’s open beta, please follow these instructions:

1. Log in (https://account.enmasse.com/) to your En Masse account. If you do not have an En Masse account yet, create one! (https://account.enmasse.com/users/new)
2. Click the Enter Code button on the right.
3. Enter the open beta test code: TERABETA
4. Click the Submit button.
5. Click the Download Game button under the Account Overview tab.
6. This will start downloading the game launcher.
7. Run the launcher and install the game so you'll be ready to go when the servers open!